by Catherine Ninteman
It’s that wonderful time of year again, time to leave the island and venture into civilization. But before beginning the acclamation process back into society, those of us who live on campus have to pack up our lives in the dorms, load up the car, pray that all our things are together and hope that the Resident Advisors don’t fine us for damages. But where to start?
Move out day for CI students is May 18, no later than 7 p.m., which means “pre-spring break cleaning” is a must, according to Jackie Burrell from thespruce.com. Burrell states that “doing a trash purge just before spring break means that much less garbage to deal with on the last day of school.”
This means that the more that can be thrown out or sent back home that’s not important for the remaining time at school, including clothes for colder weather that may not be needed, the less there’ll be to load up in the car.
“I was one of the first to finish my finals so I was the only one leaving my room that day,” Kristianne Guevara, a biology major, said when recounting a previous experience during move out time. “(My roommates and I) already had this agreement beforehand to start packing just so that things wouldn’t be super hectic the last day.” This year, she plans to “start packing at least two weeks in advance” before finals.
Amy from St. Lawrence University wrote on collegefashion.net about the importance of having a plan for move out day: “I made the mistake of trying to pack everything at once, which didn’t make the process any easier (and created a horribly messy room!).”
Amy brings up many helpful tips in her post, such as packing small items first, what to do with textbooks and how to handle the closet of clothes — from donating to separating them into their respective labeled boxes.
Finally, the last sweep of the room should be very light: vacuum the room and pack your bedding, immediate electronics that aren’t needed, clean dishes and any leftover food that are non-perishables. After loading the car, return the dorm key to the appropriate personnel. Then, pile into the car and drive off into the sunset and enjoy the break.
